Activision
and Neversoft literally made videogame history when
they launched their PSone take on Spider-Man back
in 1999. The game featured a 3D city for Spider-Man
to explore, wallcrawl and websling in and it was jam-packed
with characters, villains and cameos ripped directly
from the pages of the vast Marvel Universe. Fast forward
6 years later and the spider-torch has been passed
to Treyarch who has been responsible for the previous
Spider-Man games based on the blockbuster movie franchise.

When
we last saw the webhead, he was swinging through a
fantastic digital replica of New York City, complete
with the Chrysler Building, Empire State Building,
Statue of Liberty and other Big Apple landmarks. The
streets were populated with moving traffic and New
Yorkers - some who minded their own business, some
who were looking for trouble, some who liked to hang
from buildings and some who couldn't hold onto their
bloody balloons (small wonder their parents abandoned
them on the dirty streets of NYC almost immediately
after Spidey returned their precious bounty). It was
the incredible swinging physics in Spider-Man 2 the
Game, that captured the imaginations of gamers everywhere,
who finally had a taste of what it must be like to
swing from a thread, um...overhead. The free-roaming
aspects encouraged gamers to protect the streets from
a variety of threats, thus ensuring there was more
to do when the story mode was finished. Unfortunately
with only a small smattering of random events to thwart,
the game quickly fell into repetition although many
gamers, myself included, found themselves turning
the game on months after its release just to webswing
around the city again for the fun of it. Yeah, it
was that good.

With
another movie game due in 2007 and some time to kill
between now and then, Treyarch set out to create a
Spider-Man game in the interim that would encompass
the mythos of the character and allow them 100% freedom
to create a story that wasn't tied to any other properties.
Since it's always a good idea to go with what's hot,
Treyarch turned to Ultimate Spider-Man writer Brian
Michael Bendis and artist extraordinaire Mark Bagley
and got them involved in this project. Ultimate Spider-Man
(the comic) is an entirely new retelling of one of
the most popular superheroes ever created. While the
Amazing Spider-Man still exists in comic books and
might be the one you grew up with over the last few
decades, this Ultimate Spider-Man is just a kid. A
15 year old kid to be more accurate and he's coming
to terms with his new found powers. Many things have
been altered from the ASM comics to make Ultimate
Spider-Man easy for kids today to relate. One such
example: Peter Parker works for the Daily Bugle as
their web designer. Get it? Insert groan
here. Another? Mary Jane Watson is in on the secret
- in fact, she's Peter's seamstress when the spideythreads
take a beating. You can't fault Marvel for trying
to teach an old arachnid some new tricks and breath
some new life into a series that is over 40 years
old. And so here we are playing Ultimate Spidey's
very first game. How does it hold up? Let's check
it out.

You'd
be forgiven if you expect Ultimate Spider-Man to play
very much like Treyarch's previous Spider-Man game
released last July. It's kind of hard not to walk
into USM with at least some prior expectations since
it's the same character, the same development company
and the same game engine. However it's best to approach
USM as a stand alone product - because this isn't
Spider-Man 2.5 although there are going to be some
obvious similarities. Unfortunately and inexplicably,
some of the cool little stylish moves such as flagpole
flipping that were present in the last game are no
longer present, much to the chagrin of fans.

Our
webheaded hero in USM is a younger, inexperienced
crimefighter and thus doesn't necessarily have the
finesse of an older, wiser Spider-Man. This translates
into a fighting engine that isn't nearly as complex
or in-depth as previous games and fans might feel
like this was a huge mistake as well as a cop out
by Treyarch. Spidey will automatically increase the
number of combo attacks he can perform as the game
progresses, but he won't learn any new moves to use.
The fighting system consists of kick, punch..(it's
all in the mind...Oops, another Parappa flashback,
sorry!), throws and web attacks. There aren't any
button combos to speak of that will net you a plethora
of cool moves, but both the web attacks and throws
offer a small amount of variety. Spidey bounces off
walls for direct attacks, jumps back and forth between
enemies and now must web up dazed enemies so they
can't get back up again. At first I wasn't crazy about
the fighting, but it definitely grew on me. In fact,
almost everything in USM grew on me - as my first
reaction to the game was "What have they done
to this franchise?" But more on that momentarily.
USM still features random street crimes that must
be stopped, but Treyarch has created Combat Tours
which are activated by locating an icon hidden around
Queens and New York. A Combat Tour is comprised of
numerous gangs which Spidey must vanquish. There is
no time limit and an arrow generously shows you where
to find the next group of thugs. While the Combat
Tours start off easy, you'll be whistling another
tune later in the game (depending on how many tours
you complete) because they ramp up in difficulty quite
nicely and you'll be forced to rely on the frenetic
fighting style Treyarch has provided you with - and
it does work extremely well.

Not
only has the fighting engine changed, but Treyarch
also monkeyed with the webswinging physics that many
gamers loved and just as many gamers hated from the
last game. While the essence of the swinging is somewhat
the same, Spidey won't be pulled towards the direction
where his web attaches, allowing him to remain more
in the center which makes getting around the city
much easier than the last game. Treyarch has allowed
for 5 swing speed upgrades that are earned after you
unlock and win the necessary Human Torch races (which
go from mildly difficult to impossible). A boost button
is present but it doesn't seem to initially have the
same "oomph" from the last game - I know,
I know, I'm drawing comparisons again! It's hard not
to. Spidey can also climb his web now, which I thought
was the most useless mechanic ever, until I started
to use it and really understand why they implemented
it. Now I think it's one of the games best features.
I found that my webswinging technique had completely
changed from where it had been when I started USM.
If you're having trouble I would suggest using either
the R trigger and webclimb button or R trigger and
boost simultaneously while swinging as it will make
all the difference. Using those two
buttons together along with webzipping and double
jumps, I could achieve the distance, height and speed
I needed to get around the city. If you play this
game like SM2, you're going to have some initial trouble
until you reprogram your thinking. On the plus side,
fans who didn't like the swinging in SM2 will appreciate
the precision of the swinging in USM, especially if
they were constantly slamming into buildings and feeling
out of control.

Your
webswinging skills will be put to the ultimate test
(no pun intended) throughout the games various chase
and race sequences which run the gamut from a swing
in the park to controller biting maddening later on.
You'll need to complete races to unlock Johnny Storm
(Human Torch) races that will net you speed upgrades,
but only the best of the best will ever complete the
4th Johnny Storm race. Once you beat the game, Venom
will be able to partake in Venom races which are rated
"Insane". I tried one and gave up as Venom
must land on floating moving platforms and I didn't
find his particular locomotion physics conducive to
this sort of activity.

Where
USM manages to best the previous game is in its story
and presentation. The stylized comicbook artwork of
Mark Bagley is recreated wonderfully and the story
is meatier thanks to the mind of writer Brian Michael
Bendis. Surely USM readers will appreciate the dedication
to the substance of the Ultimate Spider-Man universe.
The comic book style presentation complete with comic
panels, moving characters and speech balloons really
help achieve a perfect marriage between the two mediums.
The visual flair of the city is magnificent. New York
City (Manhattan and Queens) is a little smaller this
time but it didn't make much of a difference to me.
The city is far more detailed in terms of neon lights
and little details like overflowing garbage cans in
the alley, blowing paper etc. but seems to be less
populated with humans. As well, I was surprised that
there were no helicopters flying around to latch onto
and there appears to be no way to get to the Statue
of Liberty.

Another
feather in the cap of USM is the ability to play as
Venom. Venom has a different set of movements and
locomotion than Spidey. He can't webswing, but he
can leap extremely high into the air, he can lift
cars and must feed the Venom suit or he'll die. Playing
as an alternate character, who just happens to be
the antithesis of Spider-Man is a great idea but I
personally didn't find the Venom stages in Story Mode
are all that fun unfortunately. I found playing as
Venom in free-mode (after beating the game) was far
more entertaining - although you're sure to be underwhelmed
if you had spent any time with Radical's excellent
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction game.

You
can't speak of USM's presentation without acknowledging
the roster of characters whom appear in the game.
Yet for a story that encompasses young Parker's life,
there are no appearances by Aunt May or J. Jonah Jameson
which is perplexing. Peter mentions having to get
home to Aunt May's or needs to get to the Daily Bugle
or JJJ will "chew his butt" but nothing
ever comes of it. Peter lands on top of the Bugle
and the scene switches to Venom or he'll arrive at
home and again, the scene switches to Venom and we
never do see that part of the story arch, which I
found extremely weak. Some of the characters that
do appear are completely wasted, such as Wolverine
- whose presence in the game was almost on par with
a gratuitous product placement. There was no reason
for him to be there other than the "Wolverine's
in the game" factor that would be shouted on
forum boards everywhere and shared on playgrounds,
therefore increasing the overall hype.

The
writing, script and acting bring the USM world to
life and I doubt many fans would have anything negative
to say about this aspect of the game. Spidey's quips
are genuinely quite humorous at times and the interaction
between Parker and MJ are believable. The villains
are all their wonderfully maniacal "over the
top" selves and Spidey's sarcastic banter with
them will appeal to fans of all ages who felt this
personality element of Spidey has been overlooked
in the movies and previous games based on the movies.

When
SM2 was released, it was with great fanfare that Treyarch
had filled a virtual New York City with all kinds
of troublemakers. Gamers could patrol the streets,
find crimes in progress and beat down the heavies.
Treyarch acknowledges that the "random"
missions in the previous game were far too repetitious
but then do absolutely nothing about it in this game.
The worst kept secret is that Venom gets to eat the
balloon kid - which is an in-joke for anyone who hated
the "I LOST MY BALLOON!" mission from SM2
- but again, it's an empty gesture. I don't want to
eat that kid, I want to eat the one
who was screaming from the last game. But I guess
that little token gesture was to appease us but it
doesn't work. The random crimes you'll encounter are
a tad more varied than before, but haven't been increased
significantly in either quantity or quality. In fact
you could spend 10 minutes or more waiting for a street
crime to occur which is a major pain in the ass when
you are hoping to increase your stats. Eagle-eye SM2
players will notice certain missions are no longer
present such as saving people on boats, retrieving
balloons or battling mechs - and I don't think I've
run into a crime that was particularly new which is
really too bad. In any event you'll no longer have
to stop and ask people on the street what the problem
is. As you progress you'll run into a couple of villains
who carry out street crimes (Shocker and Boomerang)
but it would have been nice to see more bosses turn
up.

Speaking
of bosses, let me segue into boss battles. As mentioned,
every major boss battle begins with a chase through
the city - which may or may not frustrate you to no
end. I'm not sure why the game would fall into this
predictable pattern as I'm sure comic book readers
wouldn't appreciate if each comic book started with
a chase through the city which culminated in a big
battle. Well, okay...a lot of comics do tend to follow
that particular schematic but Treyarch should have
done something to alleviate the predictability of
the game structure. Chases have always been the Spider-Man
series weakest link - and I know I'm not the only
who thinks that. A quick hunt and peck around the
net after each subsequent Spider-Man game release
would have easily spelled out the obvious to any census
taker: Chases are cheap, not very fun and gamers don't
like them. But our opinions be damned. Chases are
back in and they are more frequent and harder than
ever. It boggles the mind. For the record, the most
enjoyable chase in the whole game in my opinion, was
the Beetle chase. I was really in the zone on that
one. Anyway, once the boss battle takes place you'll
find yourself locked into a limited area where you
cannot move from. It would have been nice to have
had the city to fight in, rather than being limited
in where Spidey can move. However, locking one into
an area seems to fit the "find a weakness"
style of battle that each major fight plays out. Boss
battles are not particularly difficult as long as
you've got the Camera Lock feature enabled and can
figure out how to recognize a pattern. Since Radical's
Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction borrowed many
ideas from Treyarch's SM2, it's kind of surprising
that they actually improved upon many of them. Battling
throughout a huge city, smashing cars and other environmental
objects as the Hulk turned out to be a great stress
relief and tons of fun. I would have expected Treyarch
to go in this direction but USM feels far more limited
at times than say, unlimited.

It's
no secret that players were violently disappointed
in the amount of codes and extras in Spider-Man 2.
There were no extra costumes (a staple of previous
Spider-Man games), no other playable characters, no
level select, no infinite health etc. Treyarch took
notice of this and promised to do better and hey,
they did allow us to play as Venom this time. While
there are 5 costumes to unlock (which must be earned)
and the ability to play as Venom with the white spider
in free-roam, that's definitely 5 times the costumes
that were available in the last movie game. Unfortunately
these costumes seem to have been placed in USM almost
passive-aggresively. The Wrestling costume is a throwaway
- as it looks virtually identical to the regular Spidey
suit albeit minus the drawn on webbing. You'd be hard
pressed to spot the difference. Most gamers are looking
for the black symbiote suit (which features no special
powers or abilities) and Treyarch delivered - but
you'll have to invest countless hours completing all
of the Combat Tours, City Events and locating all
of the hidden tokens for the luxury. I don't know
- seems kind of passive-aggressive to me. "Here's
your damn symbiote suit! Just try and get it punks!"
But you can't say they didn't put it in.... It's really
too bad that by the time you have finally unlocked
the costume you've been waiting for, you've seen and
done absolutely everything there is to see in the
game. The last final bit of disturbing news: You can't
use the unlocked costumes in Story Mode as you'll
only have access to them in Free Roam. Boo Freakin'
Hiss!

Free
Roam is unlocked at the end of the game and while
the story has come to an end, both Spider-Man and
Venom will be able to goof around in Manhattan and
Queens doing races, finding tokens, completing street
events and combat tours (Spider-Man) or creating havoc
(Venom). Gamers familiar with SM2 might be wondering
why the time of day doesn't change during the Free
Roam. It's odd that it has been removed in favor of
having to switch between characters to initiate a
time of day change (you may have to switch between
Venom and Spidey a couple of times to get to the time
of day you'd like to play in).

Gamers
cries for a level select to replay some favorite boss
battles or chases (yeah, right!) have once again been
ignored and I find that particularly vexing. I've
beaten the game. Let me replay my favorite spots without
having to play the entire game again. I mean, I've
earned it fellas! I'm assuming that game testers were
able to test out various levels without having to
play through the entire story, so how about leaving
it in? It's our game so let us play it as we'd see
fit. I think the gang over at Treyarch could stand
a little course in "How To Enhance Your Customers
Enjoyment of Your Product Through the Magic of Cheats
& Level Selects".

There
is no game reviewer out there that is as much of a
Spider-Man gaming nut than I am. Maybe there is, but
for the sake of argument, let's pretend that I'm the
one. Hey, I flew out to Los Angeles for E3 2004 JUST
to see Spider-Man 2 in action and was denied freakin'
access. I spend thousands on that trip just to play
it for a few minutes. I'd say I'm a pretty big fan.
USM is a great concept that I'd like to expanded on.
The blockbuster production values make this one of
the best comic book to videogame adaptations ever
made. The control is equally as impressive which may
not be apparent initially as I mentioned. The only
things holding this game back from absolute greatness
are basically the same flaws that held SM2 back from
greatness: repetitive random missions, relentless
chase missions, relatively short story mode and the
lack of imagination in terms of game structure. I
hope Treyarch really listens to the fans next time
and delivers a phenomenal Spider-Man 3 game for 2007
as they have the potential to do so. In short, USM
is an inconsistent but impressive undertaking which
succeeds spectacularly in certain areas and fails
miserably in others. You should definitely play it
and give it your best shot, just don't expect to be
swinging around in that black symbiote suit as Spidey
anytime soon.

Preview
by Vaughn

With
only a couple of weeks left before USM spins its web
onto consumers and Spidey fans everywhere, we thought
we'd take a moment and reveal more delicious tidbits
on what is promising to be the most true to the character
comic based videogame ever.

Characters
confirmed: While we were expecting a heaping helping
of USM characters, color us surprised when we saw
that not only will the Fantastic 4's Baxter Building
be included in this virtual New York, but also the
Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch. Keep that color
out (we hope you chose a nice shade of red...) because
we freaked when we saw footage of Venom facing none
other than everyone's favorite Canadian mutant...Wolverine!
Activision is still keeping the final villain roster
under wraps but they've recently shown off footage
of Beetle and Shocker. We've also found some secret
info which reveals that Peter Parker will also have
to deal with the ultimate version of Green Goblin
(check out the screen!). We've heard rumblings of
a Carnage appearance but that hasn't been confirmed
- although he is mentioned in the character bios that
are featured in the PS2 Special Edition. Could that
mean he's in the game?

Swinging
Updated: We've seen the webswinging in action
and it looks much improved over SM2. Instead of pulling
Spider-Man towards the apex of the web connection
(ie: realistically yanking him towards the direction
where the web attaches) Treyarch has improved the
control by allowing Spidey to remain more in the center.
This should eliminate the wall-smashing that was rampant
in the first game.

Venom
Locomotion Updated: We've also seen Venom leaping
around New York. If you've played Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
you'll have a much better idea of how Venom gets around
town. He has incredible leaping skills that, much
like that fancy pants cape sporting poser, allow him
to leap tall buildings in a single bound. It doesn't
look like you'll miss webswinging once you see how
far Venom travels in a single jump.

Codes
/ Unlockables: After the horrifyingly disappointing
amount of unlockables in Spider-Man 2, Treyarch seems
ready to make it up those who felt shortchanged last
time around. The official Ultimate
Spider-Man website even has a blurb stating "A
crazy amount of unlockables!" That sounds definitely
good to our ears. Expect interviews, concept art and
new costumes. We can't say there will be more playable
characters...but a playable Wolverine sure would be
cool....

Balloon
Kid: "My balloon!" Yeah, he's here.
But now in a delicious twist of sick humor, Venom
can swallow this little S.O.B. whole and chew up his
life force. Awesome! That's worth the price of admission
alone.

Special
Edition PS2 Features:

Loaded
with extras, this is one Spider-Man game no true
fan should be without:

History
of Spider-Man documentary

22
minute show developed by G4 Tech TV focused on the
evolution of Spider-Man

A
first look at Ultimate Spider-Man on the Gamecube,
one of the first thoughts to go through my head was
"This is the best looking Spider-Man game to
date." With its "living comic" feel,
a living city in much need of saving and a living
alien evil, Ultimate Spider-Man is looking to deliver
the true ultimate Spidey experience.

Ultimate
Spider-Man's developers Treyarch, have done an amazing
job to give the game a true comic feel. They have
implemented a system called "3D Comic Inking
Technology", which is a much more advanced Cel-Shading
technique. Full motion comic panels are dispersed
within the game, showing the action from different
vantage points. This is ingenuity at its finest, and
truly gives the game a "living comic" feel.

This
isn't Treyarch's first attempt at a Spider-Man title;
they are responsible for the movie based game Spider-Man
2. Spider-Man 2 envisioned Spidey as most of us see
him, allowing him the freedom to travel from building
to building in a free roaming environment. Treyarch
will be implementing a smaller environment, but it's
still nice not to be restricted to the sidewalk.

When
playing a game that's based on characters already
deep within a storyline, fans of the character want
to see certain storylines portrayed. At least having
a faithful representation of the character would be
nice. Treyarch treated Spidey a bit differently in
this game, as the big screen Spider-Man is much more
different than his comic paneled counterpart. In order
to keep continuity in line, Treyarch had the game's
story written by Ultimate Spider-Man scribe Brian
Michael Bendis, whose Venom storyline is one of the
most popular Ultimate Spider-Man stories to date.

Venom
receives a guest starring role in Ultimate Spider-Man
and is a playable character. There is a special dynamic
between playing game as Spider-Man or Venom. Spider-Man
being the smaller stature that he is has more acrobatic
attacks and combos. Venom is all about brute force,
so expect a lot of bashing and his suit to do plenty
of work.

Venom's
suit is an integral part of the Venom game play. Since
Eddie Brock's relationship with the alien suit is
symbiotic, the suit will actually feed off Eddie's
life. To prevent yourself from falling into oblivion,
you can use the suit the consume bystanders and use
their life force for yours. Eeesh. This, and the combat,
is just a small taste of what the Venom suit is capable
of. Initially you can only use Venom is certain missions,
but once you finish story mode you can replay the
game as Venom.

Ultimate
Spider-Man shows off an amazing graphic engine which
portrays a very faithful comic feel. Playing as Venom
and getting to interact with the suit looks absolutely
amazing. With a free roaming environment full of side
missions, Ultimate Spider-Man seems to be replay value
friendly. Stay tuned for more.

Features:

Play
as Spider-Man AND a super-villain in an original
storyline. For the first time in a Spider-Man game,
gamers get to play both sides as they triumph over
evil as Spider-Man AND assume the role of the super
villain Venom, rampaging through Manhattan as they
destroy everything in their path.